Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed an “excellent” meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, their first sitdown since launching a joint war against Iran.
The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was “positive and productive," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The White House did not immediately offer more details.
It comes as both leaders face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for re-election in October and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.
An Israeli official briefed on the meeting said Netanyahu made it clear to Trump and his cabinet that if Iran were to attack Israel, they would respond, but beyond that, they would trust the judgment of the US president regarding next steps.
Despite signs of tension between the two before the meeting, Netanyahu was effusive afterward in a post on Instagram, noting the meeting included Trump's “entire senior team.”
Vice President JD Vance, who has had critical words for Israel and in June warned Israeli officials that Trump was their only friend among world leaders, was among those in the meeting.
“When I say excellent, I don’t mean it in a superficial way,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.
“A conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well.”
Netanyahu later joined Vance and Trump at a funeral for Senator Lindsey Graham, where the Israeli leader was seen speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who met with Trump earlier in the day.
Trump revealed some tension with Netanyahu ahead of their meeting, complaining about reports the Israeli leader planned to discuss intelligence on Iranian activities at Pickaxe Mountain, a potential nuclear site that the US president has threatened repeatedly to bomb.
“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe,” Trump told Fox & Friends.
He insisted whatever Iran is doing is “not a big problem” and that “Bibi’s telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”
“Why do you have to announce to the world?” Trump added, flashing his frustrations with his ally.
The Israeli official said Netanyahu reiterated to Trump during the meeting that Israel will always share its intelligence with the US but that it also understands that Washington has its own timeline and considerations to factor in, including other allied countries in the region that would be affected if Washington were to escalate militarily.
Trump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years, but upon his return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than ever.
When they started the war together in February, it was with a united front, touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out Iran’s leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West.
But as Iran fought back - sending drones and missiles slamming into US bases and high-rises in cities in the Gulf, and choking off the Strait of Hormuz - Trump came under immense pressure both at home and by allies in the region to end the conflict.
Since then, Netanyahu, who wanted to continue the fighting in Iran and against its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has been sidelined as Trump sought a deal with Tehran.
The Israeli official said the two leaders also discussed the framework agreement the US and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which have Arab and Muslim-majority nations normalise ties with Israel.
Netanyahu also needed to persuade Trump that he won’t play spoiler to US diplomatic and reconstruction efforts in Gaza and Lebanon.
